New Indiana Conference Center coming to life

November 17, 2009

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Director of Connectional Ministries James Bushfield moves into his space at the Indiana Conference Center in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – One by one, the offices in the new Indiana Conference Center are coming to life as employees continue to move in. Like many new things, phone and computer systems are being finely tuned. Staff members try to remember where they put things. And the commute to the office is becoming routine.

The Indiana Area Office of The United Methodist Church has occupied its section of the new Indiana Conference Center in Indianapolis since Oct. 26, including Bishop Mike Coyner, the Episcopal and Communication staffs.

The former Indiana Area Office on West 42nd Street is now being remodeled to accommodate regional offices of the Presbyterian Church USA.

Both the Indiana Conference Center in Marion (the former North Indiana Conference) and the Indiana Conference Center in Bloomington (the former South Indiana Conference) continue to operate from the Marion and Bloomington locations.

Assistant Director for Office and Conference Services Ruth Ellen Needler also has occupied her office. Needler and Director of Administrative Services Brent Williams are working between the Marion and Indianapolis centers.

Ian Hall, of the Bloomington Center, continues to connect computer and telephone systems as staff members move into the new center.

Church Development

Church Development staff members are in and out of the new center for meetings, however only Church Development Director Mark Gough has office space in the new center. Church Development Associate Directors Steve Clouse, Ed Fenstermacher, Stephen Seitz recently resigned to return to a congregation and Sharon Washington will be deployed across the state.

Human Resources Interim Director Adolf Hansen now leads the hiring process for administrative support staff members. He will work with Needler and other directors in the interview process. All of these positions will not be filled until January.

Other centers continue

Administrative, benefits, finances, media centers and other conference services will continue operations in Bloomington and Marion until further notice.

Both the Bloomington and Marion centers plan to close at the end of the day on Tuesday, Dec. 22. After the holidays, the Indiana Conference Center in Indianapolis will open Jan. 4.

A united Indiana Conference Media Center also will open in January at Marion, offering DVDs and other resources from both previous media libraries.

In the meantime, both Bloomington and Marion centers will continue to function needed tasks into the new year.

For future reference, the address of the new Indiana Conference Center is 301 Pennsylvania Parkway, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46280. The phone number is 317-924-1321. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. New conference center staff e-mail addresses will be posted on the Indiana Conference Web site at www.inumc.org.

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